New Leaf (Taekook 21+) [Completed]

73- Birthday Blues

Jungkook couldn't help thinking how precious Taehyung was to him. Even though he never asked for a birthday gift, Taehyung was that adamant about giving him one before receiving one of his own. It was something Jungkook had not been expecting as he pulled on a coat and eased Taehyung out of the bed once again. "Okay, let's go shopping for our gift exchange then," Jungkook declared, helping to dress Taehyung before they left.

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Taehyung glanced into different stores that they passed along the way but never saw anything that really screamed at him for Jungkook. Taehyung wanted to buy Jungkook a gift to make up for all the gifts Jungkook was showering him with. Although, that was easier said than done as they visited shop after shop and Taehyung continued to leave the stores empty-handed.

Taehyung glanced over at Jungkook, opening his mouth to speak for the first time since Jungkook had handed him the pen and paper. "C- Can we split up for a little?" Taehyung asked hoarsely as Jungkook glanced down at him. "S- So that we can shop for each other without seeing our gift for the other," Taehyung suggested softly, his voice still cracking with overuse. Jungkook's eyes narrowed slightly as he pointed towards the pen and paper. "Why do you insist on hurting yourself to speak?" Jungkook asked as Taehyung looked down at the ground in remorse. Jungkook sighed heavily as he tilted Taehyung's head up towards him to look him in the eye. "We'll go our separate ways for now. We'll meet up at the fountain there at noon so that we may have lunch together, okay? Then we'll go home," Jungkook announced as Taehyung beamed a boxy smile up at Jungkook. Jungkook had to admit that he'd do anything for that smile. It always lit up Taehyung's features perfectly.

With that, Jungkook kissed the back of Taehyung's hand and allowed him to wander off on his own. Although apprehensive about Taehyung being anywhere near other people by himself, Jungkook knew he couldn't be too overprotective of him either. He didn't want to upset Taehyung or make him think that he was incompetent being on his own. So he swallowed his unease and walked in the other direction to visit some of the shops they'd left empty-handed because buying Taehyung's gift would be a whole lot easier now that they'd gone in separate directions.

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Taehyung skipped merrily down the sidewalk, realizing the perfect gift for Jungkook wasn't one that could be bought at any old store. With the thought of his gift for Jungkook in mind, Taehyung set off in search of a music shop. Rather than just buying him a gift, Taehyung was going to create his own gift for Jungkook. Something that would definitely indicate that Taehyung put a lot of thought into the present and Jungkook.

After searching around the music shop, he spotted a portable keyboard. He'd already learned to play the piano when he was younger and figured that a keyboard couldn't be that difficult to learn. Especially since he already understood how to read music sheets. He quickly paid for the keyboard and set off towards his home, sending Jungkook a quick message about staying away from the house while he readied his gift.

Before heading home completely, he stopped by a car dealership, wondering if he should also invest in obtaining a car solely for Jungkook. He was aware Jungkook probably hadn't learned how to drive yet, but he could be taught by someone. Taehyung tapped his chin in thought as he stared at the different luxury cars that this dealership had to offer. He did want to compensate Jungkook for all of the presents Jungkook had gotten for him over the past few days. It felt arbitrary to Taehyung if he didn't reciprocate Jungkook somehow and his body wasn't relatively enough in his mind.

Taehyung scanned the cars with a keen eye before a dealer walked over and introduced himself to Taehyung. Taehyung placed the keyboard upright beside his body as he shook the man's hand before turning towards the sleek, black Lamborghini Veneno Roadster with red rims. He bit his lip as he stared at the car because it appeared to be just the car that Jungkook would like. The dealer caught on to Taehyung's wavering thoughts on the car and did everything he could to ensure Taehyung would leave the lot with this car. Using pretty words and certain phrases, the dealer was able to fully convince Taehyung to spend 4.5 million for the car. The dealer placed the keys into the palm of Taehyung's hand, helped him load the portable keyboard into the passenger seat, and waved him off as Taehyung drove the car down the road and out of sight.

It didn't take Taehyung long to get home as he parked the vehicle in the U-shaped driveway, making sure it was in front of the door so that he could easily offload the portable keyboard. Once he'd gotten the keyboard out of the car, he handed the keys to one of the butlers with a smile. "Can you please park that car around back?" Taehyung asked with a scratchy voice, trying to hide the fact that his voice was still recovering from last night.

The butler nodded without a moment's hesitation, not even stopping to say anything about Taehyung's voice as one of the maids moved to help him with the keyboard. She promptly carried it up the stairs for him as Taehyung followed closely behind her. Once he was in his room with the keyboard set up, Taehyung grabbed the notebook and pen that he'd been writing with previously to communicate with Jungkook and began to contemplate what kind of song to write for Jungkook.

He knew that they'd be separated for a little while when he graduated from New Leaf because Jungkook still had more than 7 months left of his anger management classes. It pained Taehyung to think about that, but it would only be that much more rewarding when they were reunited. With these thoughts in mind, Taehyung began to write out a song that he felt fit their situation.

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Jungkook finally decided he'd make his way back towards Taehyung's home. He missed Taehyung already and hated being away from him for this long. He sighed softly at that thought, knowing that he'd have to be without Taehyung for several months once Taehyung graduated. That pained him more than anything as he stopped to glance inside the large bag that he held. He wondered if the gift he planned on giving Taehyung was even remotely good enough as he sighed and continued on his way.

Once he entered the door, he was greeted with a tackling hug from Taehyung, who obviously missed him just as much. Jungkook laughed softly as he wrapped his arms tightly around Taehyung's waist, the bag with Taehyung's gift forgotten on the floor. "I missed you so much," Taehyung cried out, happily rolling around on the ground with Jungkook until someone clearing their throat halted the both of them in their tracks. Taehyung peeked up from Jungkook's neck to see his father standing in the foyer, staring at him with disdain. "You know better than to behave this way. This is why we don't mingle with common trash so easily," his father spat in disgust as Taehyung stood to his feet hastily. Jungkook could tell that Taehyung was angry by the comment, but he didn't want them fighting anymore either. Especially not after he could so easily make Taehyung forget who he was.

"Jungkook isn't trash, Papa," Taehyung defended as Jungkook hesitantly grabbed Taehyung's hand and shook his head out of fear. "Maybe you were just the trash then," his father added, throwing papers at Taehyung. Taehyung flinched slightly as he snatched one of the papers out of the air to see instructions for a proposal. "I hope you can finish all that before your birthday within the next few days. Or we just won't celebrate the day you came into existence," his father proceeded to tear Taehyung down more as Jungkook grit his teeth. Taehyung hung his head as he began picking the papers up off the floor that were scattered around his feet. "It wouldn't be the first time we didn't celebrate my birthday, Papa," Taehyung reminded melancholic, neatly tucking the papers in the crease of his arm before turning away from his father's cruel laughter.

Before Jungkook could say anything to try to cheer Taehyung up, the elder hastily ran up the stairs as Jungkook quickly grabbed the bag off the floor and promptly followed after him. "Baby! Wait! Don't let him get to you," Jungkook called, finally catching up and grabbing Taehyung's wrist. The smaller male sniffled softly as Jungkook turned Taehyung towards him, cupping his slender face in his hands. "Even if he won't celebrate your birthday, you and I will definitely have our own celebration. I'm not condoning the day that you came into existence go disregarded like that fucking miscreant," Jungkook assured, taking the papers from Taehyung. "Besides, you have me to help you. I may not be as adverse in business, but I'll do my best to be of help to you," Jungkook added, grabbing Taehyung's hand firmly. With a soft smile, they both walked back towards Taehyung's room to start on the presentation.